Michigan State Basketball: Thomas Kithier showing flashes of Matt Costello

Though he hasn’t played much as a true freshman, Thomas Kithier has flashed signs of Matt Costello in a Michigan State basketball uniform.

Two different players, one unique style of play. Thomas Kithier was expected by many to be well behind his fellow freshmen in the 2018 class, in terms of development, but he has proven to be right on track.

Missing his entire senior season with Clarkston High due to a transfer controversy, Kithier came to Michigan State not having played a live game of basketball since 2017. He was one of the top-ranked players in the state, but the former in-state four-star had to sit an entire season while the rest of the 2018 class finished out their prep careers and continued developing.

There was talk of a potential redshirt for Kithier in the 2018-19 season, but Tom Izzo wasted no time squashing those rumors, playing him in the first game of the year against Kansas.

Kithier didn’t score his first basket until the fourth game of the season which sparked a string of three straight games with two points.

Since then, and prior to Saturday afternoon’s game against Minnesota, he had scored a total of 13 points and did not appear in five games.

And then Kenny Goins went down with an elbow injury.

To whom did Izzo turn? His freshman power forward who was averaging just over four minutes per game. He totaled 18 minutes and scored a season-high eight points to go along with three rebounds and a steal. He brought energy off the bench that resembled a former Spartan big who had a similar freshman season: Matt Costello.

Just how alike are the two bigs? They began at about the same size. Entering his freshman season, Costello was 6-8, 210 pounds and Kithier is currently 6-8 and 225 pounds. On top of that, Costello averaged about 6.1 minutes per game, scoring 1.5 points with 1.3 rebounds. Kithier is averaging 4.4 minutes, putting up 1.4 points and 1.4 boards.

Each had an aggression on the floor that was second to none. They both play bigger than their size (like Kithier did against Minnesota’s behemoths on Saturday) and made the most of their limited minutes.

Against the Golden Gophers, Kithier showed flashes of Costello, giving fans a walk down memory lane, and if he turns into anything like the former Spartan from Bay City (Mich.) Western, the depth in the post is going to be hard to match for the next few years.